Nepal Rocks

I apologize for the really lame pun that's about to happen, but the concert last night was AWESOME (reexamine post title.) After walking off a delicious dinner down a sketchy alleyway and up several flights of stairs, we paid our 100 rupees and suddenly I was in a completely different Nepal. Compared to the very proper, structured world of CNSP, here were drunk, rockin teenagers lettin loose to rock music! It was all Jon's idea - the backup singer is the friend of a friend. In the absence of a sound byte, know that the lead singer wore a plastic apron covered in oranges - and pulled it off. I would have proposed marriage if the music wasn't so loud and I could have stopped jamming long enough to form a sentence. Compared to the slight cabin fever that was creeping in after hours of class and isolation in Kirtipur, it was the night out I had always imagined at Columbia, yet never had either due to my underage-ness, too many exams or simply a lack of cajones. Finding your cajones (metaphorically of course) is empowering. Me gusta mucho.

Knowing that we will be leaving for Mannegau tomorrow, I've suddenly started to think what it will be like when I leave for good. Despite the occasional illness and complete lack of decent, greasy pizza, CNSP is home. These other students have become my family (even if we're all a bit nuts) and mostly I'm afraid I'll forget all this when I go back to the world of GPAs, YouTube and 24-hour electricity. Before dinner, I sat on the kitchen floor with Tildai trying to make momos and botching it entirely... and all I could think (besides "wow, my momos look like saggy brains") was how impossible this scenario would seem in the States. Little things like sitting on the floor during dinner, reading during my free hours instead of watching the Food Network, or someone foolishly letting me near a stove unsupervised. Without cell phones, without internet, without television, I have been first forced, then encouraged and now, finally, independently motivated to spend my time talking rather than vegging, learning and screwing up rather than hiding away. Best of all is the range of things I get to learn - to read SYMBOLS for God's sake! How cool is that?! To cook delicious food, to have my first exposure to women's studies and anthropology (thank you Mel), to discuss religion, spirituality, independence, hallucinogenic drugs (discuss, not try)... and all because we have the time and curiosity in a space unstructured and free, outside of the classroom.

And now I remember I have 3 months left. Yahoo! More and more I am so thankful I made this decision (especially since Santiago was second on the list.) As expected, my favorite moments are entirely unexpected. Now all I have to do is defy all odds and defeat my obscene short-term memory loss when I come back. Family - be forewarned - I'm considering establishing no-TV days when I get back. We might even have to bond. (For those unfamiliar with Perls traditions and my younger brothers, I may be exiled for this.)

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has replied to my email and sent notes of home. I've loved hearing from all of you! (If you don't fall into this category, I suggest you fix that soon. I'm keeping a list.)